Stop The Mess – Three Ways to De-clutter Your Child’s Bedroom

I will be the first to admit that the holidays can be a seriously messy season. Usually in our household, the mess starts around November and doesn’t stop until the decors are neatly packed and stored in the attic for another year. I’m not talking about regular household mess, but we have those, too. I am pertaining to all the garbage that seem to accumulate within the house during this season – from candy wrappers that are remnants of the kids’ trick or treating to the gift bags and toy boxes that arrive in the house together with my in-laws and other relatives.

Don’t get me wrong, I welcome the gifts and the holiday visits. However, after all our loved ones ride their cars out of our driveway, I am usually the one who has to clean up after the wrappers and tags from gifts. This is by no means an easy task as the children get a substantial number of gifts from their aunts, uncles and grandparents. Over the years, I have learned to form a system when it comes to the mess during the holidays, particularly in my kids’ rooms. As a mother, I felt the need to share some ideas on how to de-clutter rooms to other mothers out there who might need these ideas just as badly as I did years ago. So, to all mothers out there, listen up…

Put up shelves. Since I’m not handy with tools, I asked my husband to do this for me. We had to get those wood planks from our local home improvement store; they have those that are perfect as shelves. You may or may not need to sand them, it depends how rough the planks’ surface are. My kids have a collection of storybooks that they received from my parents and sisters, so we put them all in there. If one of them wants to read one, they need to inform us since the shelves are out of their reach. That pretty much controls at least a quarter of the mess in their room.

Contain them. This is another helpful way to de-clutter your child’s bedroom and it works best with toddlers and preschoolers. At that age, they tend to scatter all their toys around the house and just leave them everywhere when they lose interest. I have found plastic veggies in my shoe once and another one in the bathroom. Basically, what we did was purchase those plastic boxes with lids on them. We placed their toys in boxes and just gave them one box-full of toys to play with. It may not sound that efficient, but we were able to lessen the mess by doing that. That way, they don’t scatter all their toys around the room. I also saved my husband from stepping into LEGO parts and for anyone who has had that misfortune, you know how much that actually hurts.

Donate. This is not an easy thing to do and I understand it. I watched Toy Story movies from 1-3. Believe me, I understand. However, it is a sad reality that kids will outgrow their toys and rather than leave them to gather dust, we donate them. It wasn’t easy at first and you just have to let them understand that other kids with no money for new toys would love to play with their discarded toys. This also goes for clothing. Plus, the feeling of accomplishment you’ll feel when you see your kids saying goodbye to their well-loved toys knowing that they will cheer other children up is priceless.

There you have it, folks. I’m sure some of you have used these methods in the past with varying success. While the task can be quite daunting, I find that it’s really just a matter of reaching out to your children. Talking to them and making them understand how important it is not to make a mess in their rooms is something that parents must not neglect to do. While the above methods have all worked out for me, it will not be possible without my children’s willingness to work with us.

Do you have other ideas on how to de-clutter your child’s room? Share it with us by commenting down below.